As I said, this is my 3rd year participating, so there have not been a lot of changes. Except I do tend to redecorate a lot. As you will see, my studio is all in black & white. I am actually addicted to color, so I surprised myself by going all B&W. I had planned to take the plunge this year and paint my back wall a color. But of course, WHAT color?? Decisions, Decisions!! Obviously, it did not get painted after all--maybe next year??

I dabble in several different medias. I have finally decided to narrow it down to the three things I enjoy most, so that I am not so scattered ( am I kidding myself? ). My favorites are colored pencil, oil painting and photography--oh and ceramic / airbrushing of course-- and I love digital art--okay make that five things. Of course I don't want to neglect my sewing machine----Well, I guess it's hopeless.

Okay--enough chit chat--on with the tour!

Please pour yourself a cup of tea and lets go!

My studio is in a series of outbuildings next to my house( see here). Now we are walking in the door straight ahead.

Turning left---

Around we go!

To the right--

Right again--

This wall I use for photo backdrops. I can hang fabric, etc from the hooks and this makes it super easy to change the backdrops. I love my 4'x8' oak table, which I painted white of course. My hubby saved it from a job where it was going to be thrown in the trash --can you believe it?

This metal picture holder is new. I went to Aaron Bros one day to get a frame and they were actually giving these away--so I took two. Now if I can just figure how to fit in the second one!!

Oh and that is one of my pastels that I did about 25 years ago--I just happened to find it again.

And we are back at the front door.

Another great find--I got two of these card holders at a garage sale for super cheap!

More views---

Yes, I painted the ceiling black. It's a 9' ceiling. It makes the space feel much larger, as the ceiling just seems to disappear.

This is Mr. Trec. One of my six studio muses.

My hubby bought me this last year, as I was always tripping on cords. I love it!! It swings around and pulls out several feet.

This is my over the door shoe holder. It's great for things you use a lot and can never seem to find.

Fun art projects-- new and old.

Thank you so much for visiting. To see my other work spaces you can go here.

Thank you again to our delightful hostess, Karen Valentine.

Now I am so excited because I get to go visit all of you! I can't wait to see everyones creative spaces!

07/10/2013

Hello everyone. It's been a long time . I do hope some of you are still with me, checking in from time to time. I never intended to be gone so long. I value all of your friendships so much!

Time has a way of getting away from you. It seems to go by so quickly these days, doesn't it? But time is always there, good or bad . At first I hated time, as it just kept passing by. I wanted it to stand still. But then I realized it could also be my friend.

For that is where I have been. With time, walking hand in hand these past few months. Time is a great healer as it passes by in all its wisdom. Time has been by my side healing in the way it does. The thing about time, is that it may be fast or it may be slow, but eventually at some point, you will realize it was just doing its job.

Shortly after my last post, my father became ill. We spent the next three months fighting with doctors for answers to their diagnosis. Then a friend referred us to a special Dr. who at last answered our questions and made everything clear. We immediately went to work on getting my father healed.

The treatment was working better than we had hoped. But the second day into it, he left us unexpectedly. It came as a surprise to all of the healers, and a horrific shock to us. It was very quick, instant. It was beyond devastating.

Time has helped us come to understand how fortunate my father was not to have suffered, or to have even glimpsed that his time had run out. For that we are thankful.

Yes, time is a constant in our lives. It at times is a friend, sometimes a foe, but you can count on it to never leave. Until its time for us to leave. But time--it still goes on and on.

12/07/2012

You may remember back in June I posted some pictures entitled Winners of the Babysitting Competition . There was one picture in particular that stole my heart. I remember telling my husband that you could just feel the unconditional love and respect of these two.

Here is the photo.

As you can imagine, I was beyond delighted when I received an email from this little boy's father, Chester. He told me the the boy in the picture was his son, whose name is Lucas and his service dog's name is Juno.

After seeing this picture, I remember wanting to know more about this little boy and what circumstances led to him being in a wheelchair. I had never heard of this syndrome before, and I am so grateful to Chester for taking the time to let me know who this picture belonged to.

Please visit Lucas and Juno to learn more about this illness and this amazing family. I know they would love for you to stop by and say hi. Please pass this on to all your friends and family and ask them to stop by and say hi. This will also help to further the awareness of this terrible disease.

Please go here to visit Lucas and Juno. Your kind words and thoughts would mean a lot to them.

Many thanks again to Chester for writing me. Lucas, know you and your family will be in our thoughts, fighting with you all the way. Many big hugs to Juno for watching over and taking such good care of his Lucas.

12/05/2012

Yes, another "bump" in the road--LITERALLY--! November, I guess was just not one of my best months. As you know, I have been battling a nasty kidney infection. I was just beginning to get back to feeling like myself, when last Wednesday evening I was in a car accident. I left the house about 4:45pm to go to a Doctors appointment to get another test to make sure the kidney infection was completely gone. The road is fairly steep, with a section of small switchback curves. I was on the way down, just entering one of the curves, when the traffic started slamming on their brakes. A dump truck had just stopped at the bottom of the turns. I was able to stop in time so as to not hit the car in front of me, but I knew I was going to get rear-ended. Sure enough, BAM, the van hit me. It actually was not his fault, as he had no way of knowing the traffic was stopped. He had not rounded the curve yet.

The whole accident happened in slow motion and for some reason I was extremely calm. I think because I knew what was going to happen before it happened the whole way through. (I know, sounds strange)

SO------it gets worse! As soon as I got hit, without looking, I knew who had hit me. It was my HUSBAND!!--Yes--you read right-- My husband had no idea it was me, as it was pretty dark. When he got out of the car and came up to mine, I got out and he froze. It took a minute for him to realize he had hit his own wife!! He was horrified!

We had left the house separately, about 10 minutes apart. He usually does not take that road, but for some reason that night he did. We have a fair amount of damage to both vehicles, but it could have been worse. He swerved so as to try and not hit the car, but could not get quite out of the way , so it at least was not a full on hit.

He is doing fine, but my neck and back was injured. I already have 5 bulging discs in my neck and upper back from a previous car accident about 12 years ago. ( I was rear ended while sitting at a traffic light) It took me years of acupuncture to become fairly pain free. I was pretty sore the first few days, but I am doing better than I expected. I am just hoping it does not get worse down the road.

The insurance company was at a loss for words, although it did solicit an unintentional laugh---as it did from the Doctor.

Anyway--I am so thankful it wasn't any worse and that November is behind us. Surely December will be better!!

Stay safe everyone and Happy December!!

P.S.--Please check back Friday. I have a special post--(which I had meant to post last week)--that I will be sharing with you.

12/02/2012

This challenge is in honor of Thanksgiving. We were to show some "fowl" in our creations.

Considering we do not eat any meat or fowl or fish--I thought I would make a turkey that could join us at the table. Here is my creation:

This is a ceramic planter. I airbrushed the entire piece.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. How about joining us at The Game for a fun challenge of "fowl". As all of us (design team) had our share of problems in November, this challenge is a little late. You have until Friday at midnight to enter your projects, and then on to Christmas!!

11/26/2012

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday! I sort of disappeared here for a few weeks--although not voluntarily! I had to take a forced mini vacation, as I have been pretty ill.

A few weeks ago I went to the Dr. with what was thought a bad bladder infection. I was put on antibiotics, tested again at the end of ten days and found out the infection was still there. So I started taking a second round of meds. After about five more days, I became extremely ill and had to be taken to the hospital. Apparently I had a kidney infection the entire time and the meds I was taking only helped with the bladder. So I was three weeks into a kidney infection before I literally collapsed.

I usually bounce right back after being sick, but not this time. The Drs. said it was a serious infection and would take some time. They were not kidding! I could hardly get out of bed for almost a week and a half. Good news is that I am feeling much better now.

I want to thank everyone who commented on my posts recently. I will be returning the visits during the week. I will also have a very special commenter I will be introducing to you later this week.

Thank you again sooo much for your visits and comments--they are very much appreciated!! I will be around to visit soon!!